


Blood is thicker than water, but is it really?

by Thisishappening



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Kind of a fix-it, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony confronting the rest of The Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-16 17:31:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7277335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisishappening/pseuds/Thisishappening
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is sort of a companion piece to 'Does Happiness exist for me?'. Tony has already had his 'confrontation' with Steve, and now it's time for the rest of the Avengers.</p><p>The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

TONY’S WORKSHOP

Tony paced up and down his workshop, thinking about the goddamn phone again, why the hell did Steve (Rogers - not Steve- never again) have to leave that, with that sorry excuse for an apology. 

Tony startled as he was sprayed with water, “Do we have to talk about this again, Dummy, do that again and I really will donate you to the city college.”

Tony turned to pick up his pencil, might as well start on the new prototype for Rhodey’s prosthetics, he thought.

 

“Sir, Incoming call from Wakanda” Friday said softly trying not to disturb her creator.

Tony stumbled, coming out of his work daze, and felt his stomach begging for food.

“How long have I been down here?”

“8 hours, 12 minutes and…”

“Yeah, thank you Friday, what did you say before?”

“Incoming call from Wakanda, should I answer or Ignore?”

“Answer, might as well as get this over with”

 

“Your Majesty, what can I do for you, on this fine day?”

“Mr. Stark, I was informed that you had made headway on amending the accords, might I inquire as to what it is you are changing?”

Tony sighed, “I’m not even going to ask how you got this information…”

T’Challa laughs

“But, there have been lots of changes that I am hoping will go through, and I am due for a vacation, so if it would please you, we could discuss the accords in person?” Tony finishes

“Mr. Stark, we are both very busy men, why don’t you…”

“Cut the bullshit…your majesty, this is a secure line, I know that they are there, I have no desire to start a war, I just want to…finalise some things.

T’Challa let out a long suffering sigh of a person who had dealt with too many things to argue this.  
“Very well, Mr. Stark, I will expect you in?”

“2 days, there are somethings I need to sort before I leave” Tony said staring at the photo of Pepper and Rhodey on his desk.

“I will see you then”

Tony hears the sound of the dial tone, and absently taps his chest where the arc reactor once was, “I guess it’s time to eat” Tony says aloud to no-one in particular.

Back in Wakanda where T’Challa has just hung up on his least stressful conversation of that day, he debates on how to tell the Avengers, and sighs, before deciding to just ‘surprise’ them.  
The door opens, and he looks at the face of his sister who studies him for a minute, most likely seeing the stress lines before deducing “Americans”  
“Americans” he agrees.

 

WAKANDA

T’Challa greets Tony at the border, and they make small talk as they ride to the palace.  
“I hope you had a pleasant flight, Mr. Stark”  
“Tony, please, Mr. Stark was my father, and yes it was quite pleasant.” Tony hums turning to stare out the window to ‘admire’ the scenery.

As they exit the car to enter the palace, T’Challa observes Tony put on his glasses, and his paparazzi smile, and realises that without the Iron Man armour these are Tony’s weapons of choice. Sunglasses to hide his eyes, and the paparazzi smile, ready to cut into anyone, and all with a smile.  
“Mr. Stark, I must warn you that the Avengers have not been informed of your… visit” T’Challa says hesitatingly.

 

T’Challa walks into the communal room that he has asked the Avengers to meet in.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Clint snarls.

“Mr. Stark is my guest, and you will treat him as such” T’challa snaps as Tony smirks and says “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that this was your home Barton”

T’Challa sighs again, and turns to the guards “just make sure that they don’t kill each other” before he leaves the room, shaking his head.

“No, I’m a fugitive in my home, I can’t see my wife or kids, thanks to you” Clint growls

“Are you fucking kidding me, my fault, YOU chose to leave retirement, YOU chose to leave your wife and children, YOU chose to follow like a mindless puppy, screw you Barton, I didn’t do a damned thing, did you even read the document?, let me guess, No.” Tony snarls effectively silencing the room.

 

“I trusted you, I told you where they were, and you said you would help them” Sam says tiredly, like he’s had the same conversation too many times.

“I told you he’d stab you in the back” Clint intones.

Steve pales and opens his mouth to speak

“Is this a fucking joke, you didn’t even tell them what happened, did you?” Tony says laughingly to Steve

All heads swivel towards Steve, and Tony would laugh if he wasn't so angry.

“Tony, please” Steve pleads.

“No, Okay then, Captain, why don’t you tell our loving teammates, how I risked my own life to go after you to help you, tell them how Barnes killed my mother, TELL THEM HOW YOU KNEW, tell them how you knew and didn’t tell me, tell them how you preached about the truth and trust, and tell them how I have a funny shield shaped bruise on my fucking chest that still hasn’t healed, TELL THEM, GO ON” Tony shouts out of breath, glaring at Steve.

 

“You didn’t tell him?” Natasha speaks softly into the silence

“You, you knew?, of course you fucking knew, it seems everyone knew, but me” Tony says, his mask cracking.

“Star…Tony” Natasha says softly

“How long?” Tony says resignedly

“Since the hellicarriers” Natasha whispers regretfully 

“And you didn't tell me?” Tony whispers, his fingers tapping at his chest, as he fidgets

“Tash” Clint says like he doesn’t believe her.

“I’m sorry, Tony, but he was your friend, I thought he told you” Nat says regretfully.

Tony scoffs “I’m surrounded by nothing but liars and fucking headless chicken”

“Tony, that’s not fair” Natasha says.

“Rogers says Jump and they says how high” 

“No, he was here for us, you weren’t” Clint says staring at him, daring him to deny it

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you needed someone to hold your fucking hand when you took a shit” Tony snarls, lashing out because he can feel his mask slipping away, and this can’t happen, not now, and not here

“Tony, that’s not fair” Sam says softly

“Fair, fair, you’re complaining because I wasn’t here, I don’t know if you remember, but my BEST FRIEND, my brother fell out of the fucking sky, and was in a coma” Tony says disbelievingly.

Silence falls over them like a thick blanket, and Tony can feel it starting to suffocate him, so he wrestles back control of the conversation.

“You know what, I didn’t come here to fight, Barton, Lang, here” Tony says throwing two stark tablets on the table.  
“I had Laura and the kids moved to a safer place, and Hope said she would keep and eye on Cassie, the tablets are untraceable, and Laura and Hope have the other two, you can use it to video chat”

“Tony” “Stark” Clint and Scott say staring at the tablets like they can’t believe it’s real.

Tony turns, he can’t handle their gratitude and looks at the other occupant of the room who has yet to speak  
“Wanda, I know you hate me, but…”  
“I don’t, I don’t hate you, I just can’t…” Wanda says her words being pulled out of her.  
“Forget, I know, but this is for you” he says handing a phone to Wanda “Vision hasn’t stopped moping about losing his friend, so call him, please”  
Wanda nods, clutching at the phone

 

Tony sighs and takes a deep breath broaching the next conversation  
“The reason i’m here is because I’m in the process of getting you all pardoned, on the condition that you sign the new accords, and that when you do, I will hand in my resignation as Iron Man”

There are loud sounds of protest.

“I can’t forget this, I made a mistake in trusting you, and I can’t do that again, I’ve been informed that Lang and Spiderman will be taking my place, look after the kid, because if you hurt him, this time I will not hold back.” Tony says over all the voices, his eyes locked on Steve, who is staring right back in shock.

 

“The Avengers compound is yours, and I guess this is goodbye” Tony finishes.

Tony smiles but it comes out more like a grimace, and gives a two-fingered salute, and then walks out.

“Tony, wait” Clint shouts running after him

“Tony, I’m sorry, I honestly am, but we made a mistake, and so did you”

“Really, Barton, is that how you apologise” Tony says masks firmly in place

“I’m not finished, a wise man, one said, that everyone is going to hurt you. You just have to find the ones worth suffering for.”

“Bob Marley”

“Tony, I know you can’t forgive us yet, but please try to.” Clint finishes sadly.

“I do forgive you, but I cannot trust you, we can try however hard we want, but I will always see those cracks, and I will never forget this. I’m sorry Clint, but I am done caring and trusting people, who can’t even do me the courtesy of returning that trust.”

Tony turns around and walks away, he doesn’t look back, if he did he would have seen the whole team, watching him walk away with pain written all over their faces.

Tony stands outside T’Challa’s office, and sighs, before he knocks on the door.  
“Enter” T’Challa’s voice comes out muffled by the door.  
Tony cracks his neck before he enters, royalty he can handle.

 

TONY’S HOME

“Delivery for you, sir”  
“Thank You, please just put it down on the table” Tony says absently as he finishes the drawing of the prosthetic that he thinks will be the one, with no kinks.

He stretches, and smiles in satisfaction at the finished product.  
“FRIDAY, save finished product #45.”  
Tony picks up the mail, rifling through it, while thinking about what to eat at dinner, when he sees the Wakandan address, and sighs.  
“Sir, there is an unauthorised visitor at the door” FRIDAY spoke.

“Pull up the security feed” Tony says absently as he ripped open the envelope, and found several letters, from each of his teammates.  
“Damnit, why couldn’t they just let it be?” Tony whispered clutching the letters in his hand, staring at the monitor which showed Thaddeus Ross at his front door.


	2. Chapter 2

WAKANDA - TONY’S EXIT

NAT  
Natasha stared at the back of Tony’s head, her masks, her training in the red room was useless, she had to stand back and watch as her family walked out on her, and it was no-one’s fault, but her own. Natasha was lost in her head, thinking about their late night talks, Tony asking if she could teach him Russian, for no other reason but for her to embrace her roots and it was always when she felt like an alien in her own skin. She didn’t even realise she had stepped out with her hand stretched out, until Sam grabbed her hand and put it down.  
“We can’t just let him go like that!”

SAM  
He stared at Tony’s back and sighed, the man was a genius, with so many issues, that if they took the time to even talk to each other, they might have been very good friends. Sam sighed before his gaze fell on Tony’s clenched fists stuffed in his pockets, and thought that people who don’t care, don’t get angry, they feel resigned, maybe there is a chance to turn this disaster around. Sam saw Natasha following like a lost child, and grabbed her hand without even thinking about it, she startled and whipped around, “we can’t just let him go like that!”  
“Nobody said we were, but look at him, he’s tired of everything, maybe he just needs time."

CLINT  
Clint sighed and dropped his head, tucking it in towards his chest. He felt anger at himself, he was ashamed, not because he felt his views were wrong, he stuck by them, but because he had accused his friend, his family, of stabbing him in the back, and then Tony had gone and given him a link to the people who meant more to him than anyone. Clint was ashamed because Tony always had his back, whether it was leaping of buildings or pranking the other Avengers, and the one time he needed him, Clint had been the one who stabbed him in the back.

Clint straightened purposefully and looked at his fellow Avengers, “I don’t care what you're thinking right now, but we are going to fix this, whatever it takes, and this time we will read the fucking accords word for word.”

Clint stepped forward and clapped his hand on Steve’s shoulder and whispered “I have your back, because you are also my family, but the next time you lie or withhold important information, I will knock your bloody teeth out, capiche?”

Clint turned towards the rest “Well, if we want to get Tony back, we need a plan don’t we, move out.”

STEVE  
Steve startled as he felt a hand clap on his shoulder, nobody had crept up on him, since he’d received the serum, he must have been deep in his thoughts. He nodded as Clint finished his sentence, and stood stock still as the rest of the Avengers left around him. 

He continued staring in the direction that Tony had left in, and when he knew he was alone, he stumbled and crumpled to the ground and hid his face in his hands and sobbed, finally letting it all out, Peggy, Bucky, and Tony. Peggy had joined her family in heaven, Bucky was frozen again, and Tony, oh God, Tony, he saw him in every nightmare, every time he bought the shield down, he never stopped until he was bloody, and Steve woke screaming. 

Steve stiffened when he heard the light footsteps, and felt Natasha slide down next to him, she wrapped her hands around his, bringing them out of the fists, he stared at the bloody half crescents already healing, and sighed “How do I fix this?”  
Natasha smiled “Like we always do, together.”

BACK IN AMERICA

Tony stared at the security feed and then at the envelopes he was crushing in his palms, and swore out loud, before he grabbed the letters and the packaging and made his way calmly to the back of the workshop, and opened the safe box under his sofa, and opened it, placing the letters with the only other contents of the box - the ugly flip phone Steve had gifted him, and the damn letter.  
“Sir, he is starting to shout into the intercom” FRIDAY stated.  
“Let him in when I reach the bottom step of the stairs.”  
“Yes Sir.”

Tony brushed his fingers through his hair, and kicked of his shoes so he was barefoot, and picked up a stark tablet, and made his way down the stairs, and entered the living room to see Ross pacing.

“Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Ross?” Tony spoke casually sitting on the armchair, leaving the sofa behind the table for Ross. Playing games was something Tony was born to do.

“Is there something you can do, how about you tell me what the hell these secret UN meetings are about?, and it’s General Ross to you”

Tony stiffened minutely before relaxing, and the picture of carelessness, spoke “Oh, that’s what you’re here for.”

“That’s what i’m here…of course that’s why i’m bloody here, now what the hell is going on?”

Tony hid his smirk, “I’m sorry, what is it you’re talking about?”

Ross snarled, then stopped and straightened “You must think me to be stupid?”

“I don’t think you anything, Mr.Ross, sorry, General, the words did come out of your mouth.” Tony said matter-of-factly.

“You messed with the wrong people Stark.” Ross said dangerously.

“People, I only see you here, Mr. Ross.”

“How is Miss. Potts?”

Tony stiffened and stared straight at Ross who grinned maliciously.

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

“Shame if anything were to happen to her.”

Tony stood up, and moved to the mini-bar, and poured himself a glass of scotch “I don’t know if you remember, but my father was Howard Stark, but did you ever hear about Charlie Lander” Tony spoke swirling the scotch around.

“No, am I supposed to?”

“Exactly” Tony says with an air of nonchalance, turning around, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do, Happy will show you out.”

“This is not over Stark” Ross spoke with certainty.  
“Oh, but it is, Goodbye Mr. Ross.”

Tony heard the door shut and moved to the kitchen to pour his prop down the sink, “FRIDAY, locate Miss Potts.”

“Boss” Happy spoke hesitatingly.

Tony held up a finger

 

“Miss Potts is in her office at Stark Industries, Sir” FRIDAY’S voice came out through the speaker of the tablet.

“Thank you FRIDAY, and Happy why don’t you take a week off, you’ve been working overtime taking me to these meetings, I’ll see you next week.”

Happy sighs unhappily “Okay, Boss, but stay safe, I don't trust Ross.”

Tony laughs as he heads in the direction of his workshop “No sane human would.”

 

Tony entered the workshop, “Friday, I need a blackout in the workshop, no contact unless it’s an emergency.”

“Yes, Sir” FRIDAY said as the glass started to take on a dark tint so no-one could see inside.

 

Tony opened the safe deposit box, and took out the letters, and sighed, why couldn’t they just leave it alone, and looked at the first one, the neat cursive, Natasha 

 

Dear Tony,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the letters.  
> Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a comment.  
> Thank you  
> :)


	3. Chapter 3

Dear Tony, 

I know that you probably hate me, but I swear on Clint’s life, I thought that Steve had told you. You two were friends, you were spending all your time together, and I thought it would have been better for you to hear it from a friend, rather than the person you barely knew. Thinking about it now, you did know me, you took the time to do that, and I didn’t, for that I am sorry.

We had the late night talks, you helped me through a lot, and I took it for granted, and I never did the same for you. The mornings after we never talked about it, and I was ashamed that I needed someone to lean on sometimes, I was always taught that nobody would have my back, and I never even knew I trusted you, until that day Clint walked in and heard us talking, I was scared and I’m sorry. If you decide to give me, us another chance, I won’t let you down, in any way.

If you find it in your heart to trust me, please reply, it doesn’t even have to personal, just please let us know you’re safe. I tried to talk to FRIDAY, I thought that something had gone wrong, but it turns out that she just won’t talk to us. We can’t be there, so i’m glad someone is watching over you.

Your Sister,  
Natasha

 

Tony blinked rapidly, she knew exactly what heartstrings to pull, guess she did know me after all.  
“FRIDAY?” Tony spoke softly.  
“Sir?” FRIDAY spoke cautiously  
“Thank you.” Tony said.  
“You’re welcome, sir.” FRIDAY replied.  
Tony smiled and looked down at the next later, the tony written in chicken scrawl - Tony laughed, Clint never did like paperwork.

 

 

 

Tony,  
We had it out at the palace, but there are so many things I didn’t get to say, first, thank you, for everything.  
When I was away from my family, you gave me a roof over my head, you gave me a better uniform and crossbow than I could imagine, so thank you, but that I could live without.  
You invited us, you put together the movie nights, the dinners, and you made us a team, no, a family, you provided me with a connection to my wife and children when you hated me, and for that I can’t thank you enough, but do know that I love you.

Enough of this sappy shit, Tony, I need you to get your head out of your arse, do you know how many pranks I have in my head, that I can’t get exactly right, because I need my partner in crime.

Natasha just read the last sentence, I got punched for my troubles, so please forgive us, so we can get all these idiots back.

 

(I can’t believe I’m writing this, you better believe I love you Stark)  
Love, Hawkguy

 

 

Tony laughed as he read Hawkguy, remembering their trip to the bar, in which Clint had beaten everyone at darts, and everyone had chanted Hawkguy, Tony hadn’t stopped laughing all the way home - Tony sighed, the smile slipping of his face, the tower, it wasn’t his home anymore.

He paused and looked at the rest of the letters, and picked them up as he moved upstairs to make his coffee, and take a break. Tony sat at the breakfast bar, and looked at the next letter, the Stark, a stark contrast, it had to be Wanda.

 

 

 

Stark, Tony,  
Everybody is writing these letters and I do not know what to say, I do not hate you, and I know it was not you who killed my parents, but I cannot forget the name.  
I lost my family, and both times you or your name were involved, and I can not ever forget that.  
I can not forget it, but I am on the way to forgiving you, Steve and Sam have been helping me a lot, Steve, he did not give any details, but he said that you were also hurt by a weapon with your name on it, and that you shut down manufacturing.

I’m sorry for what happened with Ultron, and tell Vision that I am sorry.

I hope that we are allowed back in the united states, if you would have me (I think that is how you say it), I would like to remain living with you.

Wanda

 

Tony’s finger were tapping at his chest, as he thought of the vision he had seen, and laughed without humour, the vision had come true in a way, he had lost them, just not in the way he thought. He had Rhodey, and Pepper, but he couldn’t listen to Vision without thinking of JARVIS.  
Tony sighed, and thought that maybe he should try to talk to Vision, he must be lonely.

 

He looked at the next letter, the writing unfamiliar and only a couple of lines.

 

 

Stark,  
Mr. Pym told me to never trust a Stark, but I think he just meant Howard Stark. You act like him, but you’re not anything like him, are you?  
The only thing you share is the mad scientist vibe.  
Thank you for the connection to my daughter, it means everything, and the fact that you were angry when you thought of it, you do have a heart, whatever you tell yourself.  
I’m sorry for misjudging you, and please, tell Colonel Rhodes that I hope he recovers.  
I wouldn’t mind joining your band of misfits 

Scott Lang

 

Tony laughed, misfits, maybe it was the best way to describe them, they all had their issues, they were a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces were dented, and some were lost, but they still fit together. He scratched his beard and looked at the next letter, the neat cursive standing out, familiar from their correspondences.

 

Mr. Stark,  
I am not sure as to what occurred in that room when I left, but I am glad that you are making the steps to reconcile.  
I have looked through these final drafts, and if you are sure about retiring Iron Man, then I am with you. I am sure we can convince the remaining countries to agree to these conditions.  
Mr. Stark, no matter what you think of General Ross, he is a dangerous man, please take care of yourself.

King T’Challa  
King of Wakanda 

Tony smiled as he read the later, frowning thoughtfully at the last line, what did T’Challa know about Ross. He shook his head, and made a mental note to find out later, and turned to the next letter, freezing at the cursive, it was almost entirely the same as the letter that was in his safe.

 

 

Shellhead,  
I hope I still get to call you that, after everything, I’m sorry for the first letter, I was still angry and I wrote it and sent it still stewing in that anger.  
I couldn’t see past the fact that after everything that happened you had sided opposite me, you were my friend, are my friend, and you weren’t there.

I’m sorry, I was wrong for not telling you about what happened to your parents, I didn’t know that it was Bucky, but I did suspect, and I honestly thought that I was protecting you from that hurt. Now, I see that not only did I fail to do that, I also failed to give you a choice on something that devastated you.

There were so many times when I was going to tell you, but you were happy and I didn’t want to break the streak.

I’m so sorry, Tony, I can’t even put into words, but if you ever find it in your heart to forgive me, I’m here for you, I can’t guarantee that we’ll never fight, but I will have your back when you need it.

I talked to them what happened, and they tore me to shreds, rightly so, I’m trying to get help, I’ve started talking to Sam, and it’s helping. Bucky, he went back into Cryo-freeze, said he couldn’t be in this world, where he could hurt someone else, and I hope you find it in yourself to forgive him too.

I love you.  
Spangles

 

Tony laughed at the ending, even though he felt like crying. He missed them all so much, and he had received apologies from all of them, including a proper one from Steve.

How the hell is supposed to protect them, if they keep trying to come back into his life. He wanted them back here, he was so angry, but they were his family, he had proved to himself that he didn’t need them, but he did want them here. Natasha and Clint sparring, Bruce and him in the lab, Thor with his poptarts, and Steve with his charcoal covered hands smiling at all of them.

 

Tony sniffed, and picked up the last innocent piece of paper, had to be from Sam.

 

 

Tony, 

I know we don’t know each other well, but I hope that these amended accords go through, because I think we could be great friends.

I wanted to ask, if you do reply to any of these letters, how is Colonel Rhodes?, I’m sorry for everything that happened, to everyone, we could have had a conversation, but instead we blew ourselves apart, I guess that’s what happens when you’re surrounded by people who know nothing but war.

Steve is getting better, he’s not having as many nightmares, the letter seemed to get a lot of his feelings out in the open, and he’s been talking a lot to me, not as friends, but as a therapist and a patient, as such i’m bound by confidentiality, but he agreed to let me inform you. Don’t freak out, but he told me. I’ll hope to see you soon.

Sam

Tony could hear nothing and see nothing, but ‘he told me’.  
“Damn you, Rogers, damn you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and please comment.  
> :)


	4. Chapter 4

Tony paced up and down the private waiting room, running Sam’s words in his head, ‘he told me’, he scrubbed his hands up and down his face roughly, the questions running through his head, ‘why?” and ‘why now?’ and ‘what the hell did it mean?”. Tony stopped and glanced down, staring into the amused face of his best friend.

“Rhodey” Tony said leaping forward, and pulling him into a hug, Rhodey returned the hug, asking into Tony’s hair, “Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for your final meeting with the UN members?”  
“UN Members, or you Rhodey bear, however could I choose, I should probably go.” Tony said jokingly.  
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up STANK.”  
“Stark, it is literally five letters, how does someone get that wrong.”

“If you boys are quite done?” They heard the amused voice of Rhodey’s doctor.

Tony nodded at her “Doc”

“Mr. Stark, so I have some good news and some bad news, which one do you want first?”

Rhodey grabbed onto Tony’s hand as he spoke “good.”

“The good news is that the prosthetics have been approved by the board of doctors.”

“The bad” Rhodey spoke hesitatingly.

“We have never made full leg prosthetics before, as such we do not fully understand what tests to do, we do not know if they will cause you pain, so you will have to go through the same physical therapy as any other, but we do not know if you will be able to walk without support.”

“Well, it never hurts to try, does it?” Rhodey said optimistically.

“No, it doesn’t” the doctor said softly as she took her leave.

Tony turned to Rhodey as soon as the doc disappeared from sight “James, I’m so sorry mmppf”

Rhodes had covered Tony’s mouth with his hand, and spoke “Tony, I swear to you, if you talk about this one more time, you do not make my choices for me, I do, and I chose to go out there, and Tony as a pilot, there is always a chance that it could happen.”

“I’m alive and there’s a chance that I can walk again, as far as I’m concerned, all the news is good.”

“Now get up of your arse, and wheel me to the parallel bars, and let’s talk about what is really the matter with you.” Rhodes finished.

 

Rhodey held onto the bar while he tried to keep his balance, “So, about Barnes…”

“Rhodey, I don't want to talk about this.”

“Tony, you have to, you are allowed to be angry, you are allowed to rage and cry and curse everyone on this planet, but if you don’t talk, you are never going to forgive him or yourself for everything that happened.”

“Rhodey” Tony said tiredly, rubbing his hand on his face, like he was trying to get rid of a bad smell, or a bad memory.

“Tony, is it that he killed your parents, or that he killed them and you didn’t get to say goodbye.”

“Yes, No, Both, I don’t know, it’s just a mess up here” Tony says tapping his forehead “and I don’t know where to start sorting through it”

 

“Okay, how about this, we tackle it like one of your maths problems.

This may seem insensitive but it’s the only way I think this is going to get in your head.

The answer is your parents’ deaths, and the equation is Hydra + The Winter Soldier, it is important to make the distinction + your father’s job.

If we minus the winter soldier and substitute another mindless super soldier Tony, it would still equal the same thing, you have to learn to work through it. It may not be today, this month or even this year, but you have to try Tony.” Rhodey finished, looking at his brother sadly, this was eating him up from the inside out.

 

“I know, my brain knows, I know that it is irrational, and I know that it is not his fault, and there was no love lost between my dad and I, but he was my father, and I loved my mother and he took them from me, even if it wasn’t him. My head knows that but it can’t process it.”

 

Rhodes stared at him piercingly, and Tony was starting to sweat, and he opened his mouth to say something, when Rhodey spoke.

“That’s now what you’re losing sleep over, is it?”

Tony sighed as the words ‘he told me’ came right back up to the service.

“When, when Pepper and I broke up, I was lost, and I was drowning, and Steve, he was there, he pulled me out of it, and whenever I felt like it was happening again, he just knew, and he was there, you have to understand, I was lost, and I couldn’t see, he became my north star, for lack of a better word…”

“You fell in love with him.” Rhodey said softly, wonderingly.

Tony laughed harshly, his back turned to Rhodey “I was so far gone, I didn’t even notice, and when I did, I tried to run, but he was there, and one thing became another, and we agreed to keep it secret, because we didn’t want to do anything to mess up the team dynamic, fat lot of good that did.”

“Tony, come here.”

Tony walked to Rhodey, like he was walking to the gallows, and let out a squeak of shock, as he was engulfed in a warm hug, and he shuddered and sighed, all the fight leaving him, as he was held by his brother.

 

After, Tony sat with Rhodey on the floor, lost in his thoughts as he thought of where he was going to install a wheelchair ramp, and relocating Rhodey’s ‘guest’ room to the bottom floor, when he was interrupted, yet again.

 

“They reached out to you, but Tony I read those letters, not a single one mentioned the accords, they don’t even know what they're apologising for, and this time I am not going to let you settle for that.  
I know you are not ready to meet with them again, or even just talk to them, but if you can get your feelings down on paper, then maybe that paper could find it’s way too them.”

“Feelings, I never did like that word”

“Tony” Rhodey says fondly.

“Okay, okay, I’ll… think about it, but right now” Tony spoke looking at his watch “I need to get ready for the meeting, fingers crossed it goes well.”

“Tony, remember, you are worth more than you will ever know.”

“Wish me luck” Tony said as he left, smiling softly at Rhodey.

“Luck” is what he heard as he left Rhodey in the capable hands of the physical therapist.

Tony walked outside and smiled as Happy opened the car door, and said “showtime?”

“Showtime.” Tony confirmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you like the twist.  
> :)


	5. Chapter 5

TONY

Tony glared at what awaited him outside the building, they had just concluded the final meeting of the accords, and the paparazzi had been waiting there for the four hours it had taken, and they were circling like hungry piranhas, just looking for someone to rip into, of course it had to be him.

Tony slipped on his sunglasses, slipped his hands into his pockets, trying his best paparazzi smile on for size, before Happy opened the doors, and he walked out, down the steps and to the waiting podium.

Tony held up his hands, and spoke “No questions, until I have finished speaking.”

“We have just concluded the final meeting for the Sokovia Accords, well, final, until the next time.”  
The crowd chuckled accordingly.  
“There are several conditions to these new accords, and well, they’ve dumbed them down for me and you.” Tony spoke, it never hurt to stroke the egos of the politicians, Tony always found it helped, when he needed it.

Tony spotted Ross, stood near the back, surrounded by his bodyguards, and smirked.

“It has been agreed by all UN members that…”

 

 

 

WAKANDA 

T’Challa stared at the three emails he had received, the first two had been labelled for the Avengers, and Steve’s eyes only, he called Steve into his office, and handed him the print outs of the e-mails, and spoke  
“I have not read them, but the second one, is just for you.”

Steve nodded, and made to leave the room.  
“Captain, remember that today is the final meeting, Mr. Stark must be stressed, so bear than in mind.” T’Challa finished.

Steve nodded again and left the room.

T’Challa turned back to his computer screen, and clicked on the final e-mail, which was titled ‘Amendments’.

T’Challa read through them carefully before nodding in agreement, and sighing at the last tine and going back to his paperwork.

T’Challa,

The amendments are as listed:

\- If there is an attack by a being that is not human, be that an alien, a humanoid, a cyborg or a robot, no permission shall be required to intervene.

\- In accordance, if there is an attack that is estimated to cause death by the millions, as will be calculated by the Artificial Intelligence, named, FRIDAY, no permission will be needed to intervene.

\- Where there is an attack that does not fall into the above two categories, the government of said country will choose who will contain the attack, this choice must be made immediately or else the choice is out of their hands.

\- Those who have no secret identity are required to sign the Sokovia Accords.

\- Those who have not revealed their identity, are not required to sign, but are required to abide by the Accords (I managed to put that in there, by convincing them superheroes, are still humans with families, just like everyone else, we cannot strip them of their right to protect themselves and families.)

\- There will be a debrief, with the team leader and the elected representative of said country - via a video link after each mission.

\- If there are conditions which mean the debrief cannot happen, a written report by each member will be forwarded to said representative.

\- If one wishes to make amendments to the accords, there must be a majority vote, by both the UN members and those that have signed the Accords.

\- Those who do not abide by the rules, must be given a fair trial, and if there is a punishment, it will be discussed and agreed on by all members.

 

I managed to secure this agreement on two counts.  
The first, I managed to convince them of the hypocrisy after the government agencies agreed to send a nuke to New York, and the Heli-Carriers in D.C. which would have decimated the world. There were so many supers that disagreed with the accords, so I asked them a simple question, Would they rather superheroes or super villains?

The second count,…

 

AMERICA  
“These conditions have been accepted, along with a full pardon for all Avengers, and Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes” Tony spoke, sipping his water, looking at all the frazzled reporters, trying to get all the conditions down.

Tony sighed as he looked down at the cards that Pepper had prepared, and looked at the last line, before steeling himself for the big reveal.

“Like, all of you, I also believe in accountability, but accountability that will mean that everyone is safe, and as The Avengers have been reinstated, Iron Man is resigning, effective immediately, thank you and good night.” Tony finished, looking at the back of the crowd, Ross had disappeared.

Happy ushered Tony into the car, while all the media outlets were reeling from the bombshell Tony had just dropped. He sighed and stared out of the window, his hands running through his hair, as he thought about the Avengers receiving his e-mail.

 

TONY’S HOME  
Tony looked around the room, his suits in all their glory, Tony walked to the most recent one, Mark XLVIII, running his hand over the titanium-gold, and patted it’s chest, before sighing and walking out of the room.  
“FRIDAY, code black out-Alpha-679” Tony spoke sadly, watching as all the suits were locked down and all the servers shut down.

Tony walked down the hallway, taking his phone out of his pocket, and stared at the 15 missed calls from Rhodey, Tony sighed, he had been doing that a lot, and sat down on his bed, listening to the familiar dial tone.

“Tony, what the hell was that, you said you were no longer on the team, not that Iron Man would cease to exist.” Rhodey started, angry for Tony.

“Rhodey.” Tony spoke tiredly.

“What happened?” Rhodey spoke softly, like he was trying not to spook Tony.

Tony doesn’t speak for a while, Rhodey waiting patiently.

“Maybe, maybe, I shouldn't have been Iron Man.”

“Tony, that is bullshit, you were the happiest you’ve ever been, when you were in that suit.”

“Maybe Vision was right, Superheroes do breed Super-villains.”

Rhodey snorts “Yeah, okay let's say I buy that theory, what about all the lives you saved when you stopped the weapons manufacturing, all the lives you saved when you weren't fighting aliens.

Thor and Loki still would have happened, and a Nuke would have levelled New York, Tony there are millions of people living and they don't even know that you saved their lives.” Rhodey finished.  
Tony ended the call after they finished talking, and tiredly rubbed his eyes, before deciding to take a nap, a short nap wouldn’t hurt anyone.

 

WAKANDA

All the Avengers crowded in the communal room, all eager to hear Tony’s response. They watched as Steve picked up the paper and started reading.

Avengers,  
I got your letters, and thank you for them, but none of you, not one of you mentioned the accords, 115 countries signed them, does that not mean anything and your apologies, are you actually sorry, or are you sorry because you feel guilty?  
I get that this was supposed to be an olive branch, but did you even think about what it was you were writing. I get that this was more for you, than me, and you know what, fine.

If you want us to ever, ever, go back to how we were, then you will read the conditions, turn on a TV and you should see them, think about what you are doing.

And Steve, the safest hands are our own, right, but for who?  
You, or the people you swear to protect.

Tony

 

There was silence in the room, everyone was lost in their own heads, in the confusion, Steve slipped out of the room, his hands clutching the letter. He locked his door, before sliding down it, pulling out of the paper.

 

Steve,  
I loved you, did you know that, did you even care?  
You hurt me, and you very nearly broke me, and you chose him, and you have to live with that choice.  
But after all that, after everything we agreed to, we were not going to tell anyone, until we reached a milestone, and you tell the first bloody person you meet, do you even know him, how do you know that he won’t tell anyone?

Did you even think?

I can’t trust you anymore, so, please, just keep your distance.

Tony

 

Steve clutched the letter, silent tears falling down his face, he had loved Peggy, but never how he had loved Tony, and now, now he was gone, and Steve had no one to blame but himself.

He had lived through a war, losing his best friend, his boyfriend, and fracturing his family, but it took the letter from Tony, the words ‘I loved you’, for Steve to realise that he had destroyed the best thing that happened to him, because he had refused to listen to the person he claimed to love.

Steve stared at the words ‘I loved you.’, and swore to himself that he would do whatever it took to win Tony back.  
He wiped his tears before making his way to his desk and placing the letter in the drawer containing Bucky’s dog tags, that Tony had also returned to him, and walked out of the room, running smack into Wanda who was about knock on his door.  
“Steve, you need to come see this.”

 

 

TONY’S HOME

Tony was awoken by FRIDAY “Sir, Miss Potts, has just entered the house, she seems…upset.”

Tony frowned, and sat up, rubbing at his eyes, when Pepper burst through his door.

“Pep, what’s wrong…”

Pepper ignored him, asking FRIDAY to turn on the TV.

“Picture have been leaked, showing Captain America and Iron man in an intimate…”

The buzzing in Tony’s ears drowned out, whatever the news anchor was saying, as he stared at the photo, he could remember the day vividly, Steve had been bored, cooped in all day, and they had donned their ball caps, and sunglasses, and had eaten ice-cream on a park bench, talking about everything and nothing.

 

“Tony, Tony.” Pepper was waving her hand in his face, as Tony came back to his surroundings.  
Pepper straightened “We will issue a statement saying that the photo’s were taken out of context, and…”

Tony sighed, and spoke softly, interrupting Pepper “You can’t, you can’t because it’s true.”

Pepper took it in stride “Well then, we’ll sue them for a breach of privacy…”

“Pepper, nobody noticed us that day, nobody interrupted us, look at the quality of the pictures, that was not a random passerby.

 

TONY’S HOME AND WAKANDA

“Ross.” Tony snarled, as Pepper pulled out her phone, she was going to eviscerate him.  
“Ross.” Steve growled at the rest of the room, who were staring in disbelief, at the lack of denial, apart from Sam, who looked at Steve, asking with his eyes, what the plan was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I hope you enjoyed it, and finally Steve is getting his head out of his arse, when will the rest of them, even if they do, will Tony accept them back into his life?


	6. Chapter 6

TONY’S HOME

“Ross?, General Ross?” Pepper spoke, her confusion bleeding into her voice.

“He was there yesterday, and he told me that it wasn’t over, how long has he been tailing us?”

“Tony, you’ve had enough to deal with, I’ll sort this out.” Pepper spoke looking at Tony’s face, the tiredness etched in every level.

“Pepper, I can’t let you do this, he’s dangerous.”

Pepper fixed him with a look, “I dealt with Killian, I can deal with him, now you need sleep so…”

Pepper was interrupted by an old school ringtone coming from the direction of the bed, both heads swivelled to the ancient flip phone on the bed, Pepper turned to Tony to ask why there was a fossil in his house, when she noticed his horrified face.

Pepper walked the short distance to the bed, picking the phone up, and handing it to Tony, “talk to him, they need to know about Ross.”

Pepper waited until he answered the phone, before leaving the room, already typing on her StarkPhone, Ross wouldn’t know what hit him.

“Tony, It wasn’t Sam, it had to have been…” Steve rushed out in a breath.

“Ross, I know.” Tony finished.

“Oh…” Steve replied awkwardly.

“Just… tell everyone to stay safe, and I…I stand by what I said, I need time.”

“Yeah, just, please stay safe, and I know you don’t want to hear it, but I do love you.” Steve said sadly.

Tony stared at the mirror, looking at his haggard features, and spoke “Bye, Steve.”

 

“Sir, Mr.Parker, has just entered the premises.”

Tony walked out of his room, just as Peter came skidding down the hall.

“Pete, what?”

“Mr. Stark, you have to see this.” Peter interrupted, holding out the Starkphone Tony had gifted him.

“Pepper, stop whatever you're doing, you need to see this.” Tony spoke.

 

Pepper walked into the hallway, and stared at the phone, and spoke “20 points, the stock has dropped, because Iron Man has retired, I’ll go back to the office, I’m sure we can sort this out, now you’ll have more time to make products.” She walked out, slipping the flip phone into her pocket.

Pepper left the house, as Tony turned to Peter “Thanks Kid, how about we reschedule tomorrow’s session for next week, I am going to retire for the night, and you need to finish your homework.”

Peter nodded in acceptance and headed home.

Tony walked into his room, and collapsed on the bed, not bothering to change out of anything, all the events of the past year had just snuck upon him, and he felt a bone-deep tiredness, and sighed happily as he sunk into the mattress.

 

WAKANDA

Steve stared at the phone, sighing as he turned to look at the expectant Avengers.  
“He knows that it’s Ross, and he didn’t say anything, just that we stay safe.”

Everyone slumped, all thinking the same thing, hope for the best, prepare for the worst, it never really worked, when it came to someone you loved.

Steve made to leave the room, when the phone started ringing again, everyone shared a look, before Steve answered hesitatingly “Hello?”

 

Steve ended the call, looking at them, and spoke clearly “That was Miss. Potts, she says that Tony has agreed to house us, while they redecorate the compound, a flight has been scheduled for tomorrow, and Bucky will be coming with us.

Every eye in the room was on him, calculating and assessing, before Natasha spoke hesitatingly “How is Bucky going to come with us?”

“We have developed a way to make a portable chamber that will last 15 hours, and Tony has very helpfully developed a chamber at both his house, and the compound.” T’Challa spoke as he entered the room.

“Avengers, you have 4 hours to pack, move out.” Steve commanded.  
Everyone filed out, as T’Challa looked at Steve “I hope you know what you are doing.”  
Steve shook hands with T’Challa “Thank you, your highness, for everything.”  
T’Challa nodded, and watched Steve leave the room, his sister walked into the room “Trust them to make the right choice.”   
T’Challa walked out of the room and closed the door, feeling like he had just closed a chapter in his life.

 

The Avengers eyed the 2 planes, and walked closer, as they got closer, the pilot spoke “Miss. Potts thought that the cryo-chamber might need its own plane, and of course a person to travel with.”

Steve nodded, looking back at Wakanda and then moving into the plane that was housing his best friend.

 

 

 

TONY’S HOME - NEXT MORNING

Tony woke up feeling the more rested than he’d felt in the past 10 years, and the looked down, and saw he was still wearing his suit, and sighed before getting up to take a shower.

Tony walked into the kitchen, making adjustments to a prototype of the next StarkPhone and startled, looking at Natasha and Clint sat in his kitchen, like it was an everyday occurrence.

Tony walked to the coffee pot “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but this is my house, not the Avengers compound.” Tony spoke casually.  
“We know.” Clint and Nat spoke simultaneously.

Tony moves to make some toast, when they are presented to him by Clint, and freezes when Natasha’s arms awkwardly cover him, in what he supposes is her version of a hug, and he in return awkwardly pats her back.

“I’m sorry, and thank you for everything.” Natasha speak softly into his shoulder.

Tony untangles himself, and trying to get rid of the awkwardness, clears his throat and absently taps at his chest “Don’t act so pleased, it was for myself, less meetings this way.”

There is an awkward pause - before Tony speaks “and the rest of them?”

“Wanda, Sam and Scott are going to come in a week, they needed to sort some things out. Wanda wanted to visit Pietro’s grave, Sam wanted to go see his V.A group, and Scott was going to spend some time with his daughter.” Clint spoke.

Tony’s fingers tighten around the mug “and Steve?”

Clint sighs and Natasha answers “He didn’t know if he was welcome, and he didn’t want to startle you in the morning with all of us, he’s coming later in the evening…”  
“With Barnes.” Tony finishes bitterly.

“I’m sorry, I know that you…” Clint starts, but is interrupted by Tony who speaks “I wouldn't have invited him here, if I didn't want him here.”

“Dinner’s at whatever time Rogers gets here” Tony says, picking up his second mug of coffee, offering the assassins one of the fake smiles from his repertoire, before going down to his workshop.

 

 

A FEW HOURS LATER…

Tony headed upstairs when FRIDAY informed him of Roger’s arrival and walked into the room, and stared at the giant monstrosity that contained Barnes, and clapped his hands, everyone turned towards him, as Tony spoke “Time for dinner?”

There was no time to reply, as the windows exploded, and the building shook with the force of the explosion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it.  
> :)


	7. Chapter 7

TONY’S HOME

Previously:  
There was no time to reply, as the windows exploded, and the building shook with the force of the explosion.

Now:

It was silent in the aftermath, nothing but the heat and smell of fire, as the bodies lay silently, if it wasn’t for the steady rise and fall of their chest, you would think they were dead. 

The silence was broken by the sounds of marching footsteps, trained in the way only military could be, as a group of men burst into the room, before speaking into the walkie talkie, “the room is clear.”

Ross entered and looked at the bodies strewn on the floor, and the unharmed cryo-chamber, which he correctly assumed would be made of stronger material, he nodded at the men and sent them forward to check on the bodies, Romanoff and Barton were separated, but the Captain seemed to be curled protectively around Stark, Ross scoffed “Sentimental Idiot.”

The leader of his hastily arranged group moved to check the pulse of the Captain, while his lieutenants did the same to Barton and Romanoff, and suddenly there was chaos, as Rogers leapt up, in sync with Romanoff and they had knocked out three of his best guys, when Ross shouted “Stop, now!” In sync with the other two members of his team who had raised their guns and pointed them at Stark and Barton.

“This building is surrounded, you try to kill me, and you’ll never make it out alive.” Ross said casually, as he stood in between his two ‘bodyguards’.

Steve snarled and made to lunge at Ross, when the man pointing the gun at Tony, clicked the safety off, and Steve froze.

“Now, Captain, think very carefully about what you want to do, we wouldn’t want an accident now, would we?” Ross finished smugly.

Rogers moved closer to Stark than Barnes, and now wasn’t that interesting, Ross thought.

 

Romanoff snarled at the man aiming his gun at Barton, and made a move to move closer to him, and away from the two men she’d just knocked unconscious.

Ross tutted, “Here, I was expecting more of a fight from The Avengers.” Ross sneered.

“Well, maybe if it was a fair fight.” Rogers spoke, as Stark rolled his eyes at the sentiment.

“I always do forget that you do not know how the world works, Mr. Rogers, do you think this country was built on fair, do they think that any war was won with fair?” Ross spoke, sneering at Roger’s naivety.

 

“What do you want?” Rogers asked.

“Why, I just wanted to visit, but with this kind of hospitality…”

“What do you want?” Rogers asked through clenched teeth.

“Well, if we’re just forsaking all manners, I don’t think I want to tell you.” Ross said, peering in the desk drawers as he walked around.

Rogers and Romanoff stared at each other, before leaping at his men, who easily stopped them, all they needed to do was point a gun at Stark, and both tensed at the pleading “Steve”.

 

“Now, Captain Rogers” Ross sneered, tired of the display “why don’t we play a little game?” 

Steve tensed, the goon with his gun pointed at Tony, moved at lightning fast speed and shot at Steve, who grunted as he fell to the ground, and the goon now had Tony at gunpoint. The Avengers were tensed, as they looked at Steve, who was already healing, as he pulled the bullet out.

Ross grinned as he turned to the only other man in the room, “Call in Carson.”, who relayed the order into his walkie talkie.

Ross walked over casually to Barton who was still out cold, glass shards embedded in the carpet around him, and spoke casually “No need to worry about the police, all connections have been cut, including your AI.” he finished nodding at Tony.

 

Tony snarled at the violation of his AI, making the idiot holding him, shove him roughly.

All heads turned to the new addition who seemed to carrying a gun that looked similar to the one Coulson had used against Loki, and pointed it at the cryo-chamber, making Steve tense and glare at Ross.

“Oh, you didn’t think the game was over did you?” Ross smiled, all teeth.

“So, Captain, choose.” Ross spoke his grin getting wider as he spoke.

“Choose?” Steve asked, paling as he realised what Ross was asking.

“Choose, your best friend or your boy-toy.”

Steve’s head swivelled between the gun pointed at Bucky, and the man holding Tony.

“Please, don’t make me do this.” Steve spoke pleadingly.

“Steve.” Natasha warned as Tony stared silently at him.

Ross nodded and the man pointing the gun at Bucky moved closer, while the other pressed the muzzle into Tony’s forehead.

Steve was shaking his head in anger, as he stared at the cryo-chamber, before “Tony…I choose Tony.” Steve spoke wearily.

Ross smiles “Thank you, Captain.”

Ross nods at his goon who gets ready to shoot the gun… pointed at Tony’s head.

Steve paled, snarling at Ross “What are you doing, I chose Tony, you said…”

“I said choose, Captain.” Ross interrupting Steve.

Then he smiled and said “I asked you to choose, why would I kill the person who means less to you?” Ross finished.

Ross turned to his men and before he could speak, the unmistakable sounds of fighting came through the walkie talkies, and Ross takes a gun, and grabs Tony, before sending his goons to find what is happening.

“If any of you move, I will put a bullet in his head.”

Ross snarls into the comms “Report.”

A familiar voice came through the comms “I’m afraid there’s been a change of plans” Sam finishes.

Ross is trapped and he knows it, but says “I’m leaving this building, and I’m taking Stark with me, if you move, I will end him.”

Steve snarled, and Tony spoke “It’s okay, let him go.”

They watched as Ross backed out of the door, facing them, only to freeze at the unmistakable feel of an assault rifle at his back.

Ross turned around only to come face to face with the other super-soldier, Barnes.

“Surprise.” Barnes spoke before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bucky, what? :O
> 
> :)


	8. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this story, the first I've written in a long time, thank you for sticking by it, and if you liked it, thank you.  
> :)

Previously:  
“Surprise.” Barnes spoke before everything went black.

Now:  
Bucky grabbed Tony before he could hit the ground along with Ross, Tony tensed and stared in the opposite direction, muttering a terse “Thanks.”

Bucky nodded before releasing Tony’s arm and turning in the direction of the other Avengers arriving, and Tony ignored them all, focused on Spider-man.

“Tony, before you…” Peter spoke holding his hands up.

“I told you to stay home, damnit, what if you got hurt?” Tony interrupted.

“Hey, Tony, give him a break.” Clint spoke, and two heads spun towards him, Peter being one of them, as he glared at Clint, who reeled back in shock at the amount of hate in those eyes.

Peter walked towards Tony and shrugged “I had to make sure you were safe, from Ross and from them.” Peter finished, as the Avengers flinched at the venom in the kid’s voice.

 

“Boss, what do we do with this idiot?” Bucky spoke gesturing at Ross, clearing the awkward air, the one thing they could agree on was their hatred of Ross.

“Pick him up, search him, and then put him in the chair.” Steve spoke, slipping into the roll of Captain America.

Bucky did as instructed, “strapped or not?”

“No, let him think he has a chance, a man who has no restraints knows that he is not making it out unscathed. Steve finished, sneering at Ross.

 

Steve turned to Tony “Tony, this is your house, do you want to…”

Tony waved his hand, “Go for it, I have something else to take care of.” Tony spoke distractedly as he pulled his phone out, their phase was completed, now it was Pepper’s turn.

Tony pulled up a new message that said one word ‘Done.’

Tony slumped into the sofa tiredly as he thought of the events that had led them here.

 

The day Peter had come skidding into his home, with important news, there was a text screen, which read ‘Ross has bugged the house.’ Tony and Pepper had only needed to share a look, for a plan to be agreed on.

They would leave the bugs, if Ross wanted a war, he was going to get one.

“He must have left them when he had burst in asking about the Accords.” Tony thought, as he slipped into sleep, knowing that Pepper would handle things.

 

Pepper had first reached out to her contacts, and had discovered that Ross had been gathering a small army, she had taken the flip phone and informed the Captain of what was happening, and had said that we needed all hands on board, including Bucky.

They had correctly assumed that Ross would be more likely to attack when there were less of them, coward that he was, so the other Avengers had taken a late flight, and had arrived to attack the men stationed all around Tony’s home.

The moment in the kitchen, Tony asking them if they were aware, had been him asking if they knew what was happening, and the questions, let Ross think, that they were the only people in the house.

 

The plan had fallen out of the window head first, when they realised that Ross planned to murder them.

Tony thought about how Steve had sensed what was happening, and his first instinct had been to shield Tony. Tony mentally shook his head, it wouldn’t bode well for anyone if he went down that route.

 

Tony was saved from these thoughts, when Barnes spoke “He’s waking up.”

Tony got up and walked forward to look at Ross, and he knew he had told Steve that he could handle it, but this man had come into his home and threatened his family more than once, and Tony couldn't hold back.

“So, did you really think that would work?” Tony spoke before anyone could say anything, Steve looked at him, and showing his trust, took a step back and let Tony run the show.

They all watched as Tony tore into Ross, with a smile on his face, as Ross’ mask slipped at the realisation that he’d been had.

Tony stopped when FRIDAY alerted him to the presence of unauthorised individuals. Tony smiled dangerously at Ross “Now, they would be my friends, some other shady government agency, too many acronyms never can remember the name.” Tony spoke as the men and women entered the room, and picked up Ross without speaking a room.

Tony felt his phone buzz and looked at the text that said ‘Done.’

“Before you go” Tony said, as FRIDAY rolled down the screen that worked as a TV, and Ross looked at the screen, all the blood draining from his face “General Ross…Human experiments…mass murderer…”

Ross snarled and made to lunge at Tony, who smiled and turned to the nearest age “Make sure you put a leash on him.” 

The agent nodded, as Tony turned to Ross “I’m sure they will make your stay pleasant, like you were planning to do to us, right?”

 

“Tony” Steve said hesitantly “isn’t that Everhart?”

Tony turned to the TV “Oh, would you look at that, it is, coincidences do happen.” Tony spoke casually.  
Steve deadpanned “It says she has an exclusive.”

Tony smiled at Steve, which caused Steve to grin at him.

Tony coughed awkwardly before turning to the rest of them, and nodding before leaving the room.

 

 

A few hours later:

Nat volunteered to coax Tony out of his workshop, as their dinner had arrived, and walked down to the workshop, and stopped and smiled at the sight, Tony and Peter were working on something, and she couldn’t help but think of them as Father and Son.

She coughed, breaking up the moment, as both turned to look at her with the same expression, the one that said ‘This better be important’.

She smiled, and said “Soup’s up.”

Tony and Peter nodded as they fell into step, walking into the elevator, still chattering about the latest science journal.

 

Tony smiled as he saw the branding on the take out cartons, the shawarma place they had eaten at, in their first team dinner.

He took a place at the table, as light conversation flowed, nobody touching on what happened in the last year, trying not to break the fragile peace, but of course that could only last so long.

So, Tony when are you going to re-join the team?” Clint asked shovelling food into his mouth, as the table silenced, also wanting to know the answer.

Tony sighed “I’m not…I can’t, but I can’t leave you without any aerial support, Colonel Danvers will be assisting you, and now that Barnes is joining the boy-band, it’s not like you’re lacking.”

Everyone sighed, and a few opened their mouths to protest, but Steve shushed them with a firm “We respect your decision, but Tony none of them can replace you, we could still make it without aerial support, but we need you, so please think on it?”

 

Tony stared at the faces of his former team mates, and the agreement lining all their faces, even those who had not fought with him before, and nodded.

Steve smiled and Tony spoke “If we’re doing the whole olive branch thing” Tony said grudgingly thinking of Rhodey “I know a guy who helps with removing triggers.” Tony finished, looking at Barnes for the first time since Serbia.

Bucky looked at him disbelievingly before he spoke “Thank you, and I know this might not mean anything, but I am sorry.”

“If we’re doing apologies, then I’m sorry too, sorry for distrusting you, and sorry for the shit apology, I apologise for not even listening to you, you were my brother and I betrayed your trust, but I hope that we cab regain that.” Clint spoke, his first sincere apology that was void of any anger, seemed that seeing Tony with a gun to his head, got rid of any petty anger he was carrying.

Everybody nodded, “Ok, enough of these feelings.” Tony said secretly pleased, but still hurting “let’s talk about something else.”

 

It wasn’t until someone made a joke about super-soldiers, that Tony froze and slapped his forehead “I’m so bloody stupid” Tony muttered as all heads turned to look at him amusedly.

“Tony, you okay?” Clint said “old age getting to you?”

Tony said out loud “ Har, Har, I just realised that Ross was never here to shut down the Avengers, that was just a bonus, he asked Steve to choose, but there was no choice, he was always going to shoot me.”

“Tony?" Steve said confused

"Who's the one person Ross has been after for the last 10 years?”

"Bruce" Nat says clicking on, she's immediately on his train of thought

"He was never after you, he wanted Bucky, he was after the serum, and if he could do tests while he was unconscious, then all the better." Sam finished the thought.

He looked up to see them all staring at him disbelievingly.

"What?, I do own a brain" Sam snaps defensively.

Tony smiles "You know what, maybe you will be a good addition, Bruce isn't here, I need someone who can hold a conversation.”

Sam laughs, while Tony gets pelted with food.

Tony laughs as he stands up, “let’s move to the cinema room, I need to watch a good movie.”

Everyone got up and moved to the room, while Steve lingered and grabbed Tony’s arm, and when everybody left “I know you can’t forgive me for what happened, I can’t forgive myself, but for what it’s worth, I am sorry, and if I had the chance to do this again, the first thing I would’ve done was talked to you, that was the least I should’ve done, and I know that we can never go back to what we were, but we can try to get to a better place.” Steve said, out of breath as he stared at Tony.

Tony looked at him and said nothing but “We can try.”

Steve sighed and smiled, “That’s all I ask.”

 

They walked into the room, and everyone scrambled to do something, pretending that they hadn't been listening, Tony rolled his eyes as he moved to sit on the biggest sofa, as he was automatically crowded by Steve on one side and Nat on the other, Clint and Bucky sniffed amusedly as they took a seat next to their respective best friends, as everyone else takes their seats.

Tony listened to the familiar Star Wars as he settled in for the marathon, and looked around at them, they were misfits and although they were missing two members, they were a family, maybe he could give them another chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's an ambiguous ending, but I decided to end this story here, maybe I'll write a short sequel in the future, but for now it's done, and you guys get to decide whether Tony rejoined them, or he thought it just wouldn't work.
> 
> Thank you for everybody who read this story, thank you to everyone who like it, gave it a kudos, or a comment, which I enjoyed reading.
> 
> Hope I didn't disappoint with this last chapter.
> 
> :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank You, for reading please leave a comment or a kudos if you liked this story.


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